Jobless claims declined, normally a boost for stocks. But a another terrible housing report & cautious earnings comments sent stocks lower. Dow is down 31, decliners over advancers 2-1 & NAZ down 11. Tough day. The housing report is dismal. Sales of new homes are at a 17 year low. Factory orders for big-ticket goods fell for a 3rd straight month in Mar, the longest string of declines since the 2001 recession. The Commerce Dept said demand for durable goods dropped by 0.3% last month, worse-than-expected. The last time orders fell for three consecutive months was Feb-Apr, 2001, when the country was sliding into the last recession.
Stanley Works (SWK), a member of the S&P Dividend Aristocrat list & a favorite of mine as shown on the right widget, was down 2.50 on tough earnings. They squeezed out higher profits & EPS was up 5¢ on fewer shares, but SWK remains cautious for the rest of the year. They feel the depressed housing market & are going to have to squeeze costs harder to make their guidance range of 4.20-4.40 for EPS. MMM (MMM), a Dow company & another member of the S&P Div Aristoctat list, was down 2.51 on so-so earnings. They reported the same story, lower earnings but beating analyst expectations. Overseas business is solid helped by currency gains adding 7¢ to EPS. Now they have to hunker down for a difficult year. While Ford (F) had a good report, earnings for Starbux (SBUX) & Motorola (MOT) were not favorable sending their stocks lower.
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